Wages grow at fastest pace since financial crisis – CSO

The CSO said that average weekly earnings rose by 4.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter

Average Irish annual pay grew by more than 4% in the last quarter of 2018 for the first time since the global financial crisis a decade ago, new Central Statistics Office figures show today.

The Irish economy has grown faster than any other in the European Union since 2014.

This has prompted warnings from policymakers over the last 18 months of the risk that it could overheat as most people who want a job have one, pushing up wages.

Average weekly earnings rose by 4.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter compared to annual growth of 3.5% in the previous three months and well above the 0.7% annual rate of inflation at the end of December, the CSO figures show.

There may, however, still be some slack left in the labour market after separate data last week showed some moderation in the strong pace of Ireland's employment market, leaving the jobless rate stuck at 5.7% for the sixth month in a row

The risk of overheating will also likely be dependent on the Brexit outcome.

The Central Bank said last month that a no-deal Brexit could knock as much as four percentage points off the growth rate in its first full year and up to six percentage points over a decade.

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